In brief

Sir Alan Duncan did not dismiss claims that Boris Johnson referred to French people as 'turds'

The minister accused his former boss of 'riding two horses' over no-deal Brexit

Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan has launched an attack on his former boss Boris Johnson, branding him a “circus act” who is unfit to lead the country.

The Minister of State for Europe and the Americas launched a broadside on Mr Johnson, following allegations that that the former Foreign Secretary had branded the French “turds” while filming a BBC documentary.

Circus act

Sir Alan, who is backing his current boss Jeremy Hunt in the leadership race, told the BBC’s Today programme: “I haven’t seen it… [but] I do remember that the filming of the documentary was a pretty high-octane venture with some bumpy moments where we thought, ‘we don’t want that to appear!’

“There were discussions between the Foreign Office and the BBC, saying, ‘please don’t put that in, or that, or that,’ and this was perhaps one of them.”

Alan Duncan spoke out against his former boss (Photo: Johnny Green/PA Wire)

The minister, who served as Mr Johnson’s effective deputy from 2016 to 2018, added: “Some of his moments as Foreign Secretary were diplomatically awkward… which takes us to the serious points of the difference between the two candidates who are trying to become Prime Minister.

“You can have a circus act, or you can have a really serious person, who does do detail and is respected in other countries, and who will be taken seriously in discussions on whatever topic, Brexit or something else.”

Riding two horses

The minister also called into question Boris Johnson’s claims about Brexit.

He added: “This is more about character than difference on the substance.

Boris Johnson still sees more support from Conservative Party members (Photo: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

“Whoever becomes Prime Minister will face the same issues, the same dilemmas, and the same parliamentary arithmetic, but what is a crucial difference is the honest with which they’re approaching them.

“Boris is saying, ‘it doesn’t matter, we can just do things on free trade terms,’… but you need European approval. Boris is saying it’s unilaterally possible when it isn’t.

“And then on one day he says do or die I’m going to leave on the 31st, and on the next day he says there’s one in a million chance of us having to leave with no deal.

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